Indoor Makeover

Indoor plants are simply not very fashionable any more. Rarely do you open a decorator magazine and see plants featured in an interior decor.

Indoor plants, however, can be used well in an indoor garden. Burke's Backyard recently visited a house where an indoor garden at the front entrance had gone terribly wrong.

The architect had designed a planter box in the middle of the stairwell but had made no provision for drainage. The balustrading meant that access to plants was poor making watering difficult. There was a collection of small half-dead plants, none of which made a visual impact on someone entering the house. The aspect was south west and a nearby wall of glass bricks provided quite a reasonable light level for indoor plants.

By installing a capillary tray with a built-in Smart Valve we will ensure that the plants never need to be hand-watered again. The tray was connected to the complete pump and fertiliser system as described in the Deck makeover. The tray is covered with a matting which remains wet. Pots sitting on the mat take up water by a wick effect ensuring that they are always moist. To improve the contact between the pot and the mat we drilled holes in the base of each pot using a 30mm hole-saw.

We chose an advanced Rhapis palm (Rhapis excelsa x humilis) as the feature plant and underplanted it with Aglaonema 'Maria' (Aglaonema commutatum 'Maria'). These plants will thrive under the prevailing light levels and the perfect watering regime.

We removed some of the balustrading (installed when the children in the house were young) which provided easy access to the plants and opened up the look of the stairwell.

Cost

Capillary tray with smart-valve and matting  - $180

Rhapis 1 x 250mm @ $100  - $100

Aglaonema 8 x 200mm @ $20 ea  - $160

TOTAL COST  - $440

Availability

Smart Valve hydroponic pots and systems may be purchased by mail order or direct from: GardenSmart (Cap Plus) Shop 28, 810 Springvale Road, Keysborough, VIC, 3173. Phone: (03) 9701 8811. Fax: (03) 9701 8822. Email:autopot@bigpond.com.

NSW Hydroshop Corporation Pty Ltd, displays at Unit 2/585 Maitland Road, Mayfield West, 2304. For more information contact Danny on (02) 4960 0707. Website: www.hydroshop.com.au or email: excellence@hydroshop.com.au Swane's Nursery, 490 Galston Road, Dural, 2158. Phone: (02) 9651 1322, Fax: (02) 9651 2146.

NT Katherine Hydroponics, 17 Rundle Street, Katherine, 0850. Contact Ross Grigg on (08) 8972 2600.

QLD East Coast Hydroponics, Shop 11, 105 Old Cleveland Road, Capalaba, 4157. Phone: (07) 3245 7777. A Happy Medium Hydroponics, Unit 2/10 Central Court, Browns Plains, 4118. Phone: (07) 3809 3322 or fax: (07) 3809 3377. Hydroponics Today, PO Box 785, Stanthorpe, 4380. Phone/fax: (07) 4683 3133.

SA GardenSmart (CapPlus) - see details above

TAS Garden World, 322 Bass Highway, Sulphur Creek, 7316. Phone: (03) 6435 4411 or fax: (03) 6435 4153.

VIC GardenSmart (CapPlus) - see details above Elmac Hydroponics, Princes Highway, Allansford, 3277. Phone: (03) 5565 1601 or fax: (03) 5565 1606.

WA Hydroponic World, Unit 3/459 Scarborough Road, Osborne Park, 6017. Phone: (08) 9443 7993 or fax: (08) 9443 7994. Growth Technology, 1/5 Stockdale Road, O'Connor, 6163. Phone/fax: (08) 9331 3186. Great Southern Hydroponics, Shop 1, Old Mill Centre, 21 Hennessey Road, Bunbury, 6230. Phone: (08) 9721 8322 or 1800 256 888.

Copyright CTC Productions 2006